SHARE USEFUL (and sometimes FREE) APPLICATIONS HERE
GIZMO FREEWARE: What do you need? It's almost certainly here. Gizmo's Freeware is a website maintained by folks just like us who are interested in finding the best free applications available of all sorts. SO, for example, search Gizmo's for a screen capture application or an mp3 editing application, and you'll get a run-down on the freeware available, with all the pros and cons of each laid out for you. You can make up your own mind, download your selection for free, and be on your way! http://feeds.feedburner.com/gizmosbest
ipadio: Want to create mp3 files and send them to the internet instantly for your students' access? ipadio lets you do just that. No computer, no microphone, no headphones necessary. That means you can create your audio message or lecture on the fly, when the mood hits, from the Ozarks or Cabo! All free, of course. http://www.ipadio.com/default.asp
JING: I captured both the Jing logo and the ipadio logo with Jing (by TechSmith), but screen capture is just the beginning. I love Jing because it not only offers still capture, but it will also do screen capture video, video cam capture (you!), and toggles easily back and forth between the two. Jing lets you hit a button to send your video directly to YouTube (I send mine to vimeo), save your files, and call them back up super simply using a built-in history function. The best thing about Jing is that even when my webcam is fritzing, it still works through the Jing application. Caveat: Some of the features I told you about are free, some only come with the super, duper $19 version. I paid the $19 because Jing is so easy to use, and I wanted all the cool apps without the confusion of other apps. http://www.techsmith.com/jing/
VIMEO VIDEO SCHOOL: Vimeo tutorials from "Video 101 for Beginners" to the really complicated stuff. If you've always wanted to add videos to your classroom mix, but haven't known where to get the know-how, this information is "chunked" into modules. Use on a need-to-know basis or become an expert in relatively short time. This is as simplified as it gets. http://vimeo.com/videoschool
VideoSpin: Be brave. VideoSpin let's you edit stuff in and out of your video. I'm not going to explain how that works right here, but suffice it to say, it's very simple and a great entree into editing your own video clips. And it's free! http://www.videospin.com/Redesign/
Polling Apps: A couple of weeks ago I was asked to put a class online. One of the most powerful exercises in I do in that class involves calling off an assortment of eco-social demographic groups, having folks stand up when they belong to one of the demographics. It provides a stark demonstration that a classroom of what appears to be a group of similar students really contains diverse folks from a plethora of backgrounds. How to recreate that in an online environment? I decided to use a free polling application. The two I found are www.KwikSurveys.com and www.polldaddy.com. The Blackboard expert at Arizona State University suggested Polldaddy for its ease of use. However, KwikSurveys, which I found on my own, offers many more features for free. Polldaddy's free version is very limited. I am hoping that KwikSurveys is also easy. I'll report back after I play around with both of them. For sure Polldaddy has the cooler logo, though! 
GIZMO FREEWARE: What do you need? It's almost certainly here. Gizmo's Freeware is a website maintained by folks just like us who are interested in finding the best free applications available of all sorts. SO, for example, search Gizmo's for a screen capture application or an mp3 editing application, and you'll get a run-down on the freeware available, with all the pros and cons of each laid out for you. You can make up your own mind, download your selection for free, and be on your way! http://feeds.feedburner.com/gizmosbestipadio: Want to create mp3 files and send them to the internet instantly for your students' access? ipadio lets you do just that. No computer, no microphone, no headphones necessary. That means you can create your audio message or lecture on the fly, when the mood hits, from the Ozarks or Cabo! All free, of course. http://www.ipadio.com/default.aspJING: I captured both the Jing logo and the ipadio logo with Jing (by TechSmith), but screen capture is just the beginning. I love Jing because it not only offers still capture, but it will also do screen capture video, video cam capture (you!), and toggles easily back and forth between the two. Jing lets you hit a button to send your video directly to YouTube (I send mine to vimeo), save your files, and call them back up super simply using a built-in history function. The best thing about Jing is that even when my webcam is fritzing, it still works through the Jing application. Caveat: Some of the features I told you about are free, some only come with the super, duper $19 version. I paid the $19 because Jing is so easy to use, and I wanted all the cool apps without the confusion of other apps. http://www.techsmith.com/jing/ VIMEO VIDEO SCHOOL: Vimeo tutorials from "Video 101 for Beginners" to the really complicated stuff. If you've always wanted to add videos to your classroom mix, but haven't known where to get the know-how, this information is "chunked" into modules. Use on a need-to-know basis or become an expert in relatively short time. This is as simplified as it gets. http://vimeo.com/videoschoolVideoSpin: Be brave. VideoSpin let's you edit stuff in and out of your video. I'm not going to explain how that works right here, but suffice it to say, it's very simple and a great entree into editing your own video clips. And it's free! http://www.videospin.com/Redesign/ Polling Apps: A couple of weeks ago I was asked to put a class online. One of the most powerful exercises in I do in that class involves calling off an assortment of eco-social demographic groups, having folks stand up when they belong to one of the demographics. It provides a stark demonstration that a classroom of what appears to be a group of similar students really contains diverse folks from a plethora of backgrounds. How to recreate that in an online environment? I decided to use a free polling application. The two I found are www.KwikSurveys.com and www.polldaddy.com. The Blackboard expert at Arizona State University suggested Polldaddy for its ease of use. However, KwikSurveys, which I found on my own, offers many more features for free. Polldaddy's free version is very limited. I am hoping that KwikSurveys is also easy. I'll report back after I play around with both of them. For sure Polldaddy has the cooler logo, though!